Looking for advice on non-functioning air compressor purchase...

[nmcqueen469]

Found this guy on Craigslist:

Owner says it trips his breaker as soon as it turns on and just wants it gone. Pump moves freely though, so that's a good sign.

Through a little research, seems like it could be a few different things causing the issue, most costly being a new motor.

He wants $150 for it.

Talk me out of it if I'm wrong. What's the worst that could happen?

 

[awdblazer]

does he have a big enough breaker for it? does it spin?

 

[nmcqueen469]

I'm assuming it's not simply a breaker issue, although that would be great!

I don't know if the motor spins. I'm planning on looking at it Sunday.

Honestly, I'm just looking to the GJ experts to make sure I'm not going to be getting a money pit. It's more compressor than I'll need (for now) but it's awfully enticing for the price, even if a few hundred dollars need to be put into it.

 

[CNGsaves]

Wowsa, for just $150 price, I'd snag it !!

Worse case scenario, it's a bad motor. I doubt it.

More likely a lesser problem . . . . or could be the Seller simply doesn't have enough power, too small breaker, or too small wire !!

Unit looks virtually new. Let us know how this turns out. Good luck.

 

[larry_g]

Three things there, motor, pump, and tank. Consider that you have to replace one of them. With the 150 buy in and a $300 dollar part your i the compressor ~$450. If you'd buy that for ~$500 then your good. If you find that its some thing like the switch or the start cap then your in for a you ****.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[lilredex]

Take the belt off and see if the motor runs OK with no load. Probably needs 30A. or so to start with a load.

 

[Major Ramifications]

This is a discontinued model, and I think it was made by Coleman Powermate, but I am not sure. I doubt that it is a lack of available current problem, because this thing has been around for a while.
It's a single stage compressor, but still manages 14 CFM at 90 PSI.

Here is a link to a thread on here where Lowes was closing them out at $384 about 5 years ago.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20938

$150 seems pricey to me. How much would a motor be? You could easily end up with a 6 year old compressor with little to no parts availability that costs damn near what a comparable new one would.

 

[firebox40dash5]

This is a discontinued model, and I think it was made by Coleman Powermate, but I am not sure. I doubt that it is a lack of available current problem, because this thing has been around for a while.
It's a single stage compressor, but still manages 14 CFM at 90 PSI.

Here is a link to a thread on here where Lowes was closing them out at $384 about 5 years ago.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20938

$150 seems pricey to me. How much would a motor be? You could easily end up with a 6 year old compressor with little to no parts availability that costs damn near what a comparable new one would.

Hard to say on the electrical, without knowing the details. I've seen some people do some dumb ****, like trying to run 240v stuff off 120v... in fact our electrician wired our shop lifts like that. Maybe the guy's had it forever and it's never worked because he hooked it up wrong, maybe he bought it used recently and hooked it up wrong, who knows. Although I'd have to question how likely an undersized breaker would be, since very little common household stuff that takes 240v takes much less, so it's not likely to have one in a panel to start. Then again, maybe the guy added a breaker, and figured 22 is close enough to 20, and put a 20a breaker in.

I'd buy it for $150 just for the tank, but then I'm looking for another tank.

 

[jjjrmx5]

Take the belt off and see if the motor runs OK with no load. Probably needs 30A. or so to start with a load.

LOL.

I was just thinking that.

Perhaps he has a 20A breaker that since it pulls 22A per the label is not likeing the set up he has.

If it spins free, is pretty new (no old compressor iol issues) nor a motor problem, then go for it.

 

[rancherbill]

I'd buy it.

My first guess is basic electrical wiring or the breaker.

 

[zkling]

X ^ #'s. Agree with all those that said buy it. If you have the cash sitting around and don't mind a little investigative research, go for it. Really can't loose much. Might even be something goofy like an improperly wired motor.

Here is the question. Has the current owner ever seen it run? If not I would be a bit suspicious. Then again for $150 you don't have too much to lose. When you turn the pump over by hand, watch the flywheel, make sure it doesn't have a wobble to it.

What's the worst that could happen?

WORST????
You could get electrocuted trying to wire it.
The tank could blow up while you are working on it.
Your arm gets caught in the belt as it starts up unexpectedly.
You could get a hernia or other injury trying to move it.
It falls over on you and you are pined for a few hours.
You go to purchase it and the current owner robs you at gun point.
On the way home the compressor comes loose and becomes airborne.

I doubt if any of that will happen, sure hope they don't, but since you asked.

 

[nmcqueen469]

Thanks for all the input guys. I'm hoping its just a function of the seller being a ******* and he's trying to run it on a 15-20 amp breaker. If that's not the case and something is really wrong with it, then that's fine as well since that's what I'm planning for.

WORST????
You could get electrocuted trying to wire it.
The tank could blow up while you are working on it.
Your arm gets caught in the belt as it starts up unexpectedly.
You could get a hernia or other injury trying to move it.
It falls over on you and you are pined for a few hours.
You go to purchase it and the current owner robs you at gun point.
On the way home the compressor comes loose and becomes airborne.

I doubt if any of that will happen, sure hope they don't, but since you asked.

Fair enough, I set myself up there.

 

[stratman977]

The motor on my compressor did the same thing. 80 gal single stage 5hp ingersoll rand. One of the windings was burnt. It was an emerson motor. Took it to a motor shop and they told me it was made to be disposable and not worth repairing.

Even if the pump spins and the motor is bad you don't know if undervoltage killed the motor, the motor was just faulty, or the pump could be going causing the motor to work harder.

 

[RCStocker]

I have a bunch of compressors.
One is a portable with 30 gallon tank. The motor is a monster and it is a V head compressor. It is a commercial compressor and draws so much power that I can not use it on most job sites. It blows the breaker or fuse. I run it off of a tem power pole box on new construction.

Hope you bought it. It is a steal even if you need a new motor. I doubt there is anything wrong with the motor. If it can be changed over to 220 do it. You can run it on half the amps.

If the motor is bad I will send you a good one free if you pay the shipping. I have a bunch of 2 hp 110/220 motors. I have been buying and selling tools sense 1962 and you can really get a lot of extra parts form things you scrap out. LOL

 

[justanengineer]

Are you sure the seller still has it? I texted a few weeks ago about that one and the seller said it was sold. Seeing the model ## in your second pic now, Im glad I didnt buy it too as that was only ~$500 new and he was asking that much for it.

 

[nmcqueen469]

Are you sure the seller still has it? I texted a few weeks ago about that one and the seller said it was sold. Seeing the model ## in your second pic now, Im glad I didnt buy it too as that was only ~$500 new and he was asking that much for it.

He said he still has it. I'm going to take a look at it tomorrow.

 

[454ragtop]

It may have a problem with the unloader, if it pops the breaker trying to start with a partially full tank. Had this problem once with a little portable compressor. That one had a fitting at the tank inlet called a Load Genie, that had failed and wouldn't release the head pressure, so had a hard time starting under load. A new one from Grainger and it was good to go. You can check by draining the tank down completely and seeing how it starts then.
Good luck, Jim.

 

[nmcqueen469]

She's home, all in one piece! Loaded with a skid loader and unloaded by hand. That was...interesting. LOL.



Time to start the diagnosis now.

The seller did indeed have it on a 20a breaker, but he said they used it at work until it began exhibiting problems, then he took it home and its sat ever since.

It does start and spins slowly for a few seconds, doesn't pop the breaker immediately like I thought he'd mentioned. He did say however that it would fire up and run fine if you helped it by manually spinning the flywheel....up until lately.

That last bit of info adds another wrinkle to the repair diagnosis. Anyone have any ideas as to why it would have slowly stopped working over time like that? Startup capacitor maybe???

 

[zkling]

Glad you got it home in one piece.

The seller did indeed have it on a 20a breaker, but he said they used it at work until it began exhibiting problems, then he took it home and its sat ever since.

And the truth comes out. Did he tell you what "problems" it started exhibiting? That is a bit worrysome. I wonder if it is a high hour unit.

How many caps does the motor have? One (just start cap) or two (start and run caps). Did you try running the motor disconnected from the pump? Will the motor spin up then?

 

[deltaphisig]

Could have burned up a winding, too. Either way, I'd buy it and watch for a used motor...if it even needs it. I run my unit on a 50 amp breaker. Minimum would be 30 amp. Who knows...maybe they toasted the breaker by loading it and popping it too often.

I'd buy it. Bought lots of "broken" stuff that worked just fine when I got home, cleaned it, and hooked it up right. Most recently, a $1000 commercial pressure washer

 

[nmcqueen469]

Glad you got it home in one piece.

And the truth comes out. Did he tell you what "problems" it started exhibiting? That is a bit worrysome. I wonder if it is a high hour unit.

How many caps does the motor have? One (just start cap) or two (start and run caps). Did you try running the motor disconnected from the pump? Will the motor spin up then?

Popping the breaker at work was the problem it had. He couldn't tell me what breaker they had it on, but I'm assuming it was at least 30 since it worked at one point.

They used it to run a single machine, one day per week for about 3 years I think is what he said. ~1200 hours, give or take.

I haven't done anything with it yet other than unload it. My father in law is a retired electrician, so I defer all my wiring to him. Garage is already wired for it so we (he) are going to put a plug on it and see what happens with just running the motor by itself.

 

[nmcqueen469]

Can anyone hunt down a part # for a replacement start capacitor for me?

I'll owe you a beer!

 

[ChevyEFI]

http://www.mastertoolrepair.com/kobalt-parts-kla4508065-137603-137-603-p-5537.html

Someone here linked to that site when I asked another compressor question a while ago. Their site was doggone helpful.

 

[nmcqueen469]

http://www.mastertoolrepair.com/kobalt-parts-kla4508065-137603-137-603-p-5537.html

Someone here linked to that site when I asked another compressor question a while ago. Their site was doggone helpful.

Thanks! I remembered reading your post buy couldn't track it down again.

 

[larry_g]

Can anyone hunt down a part # for a replacement start capacitor for me?

I'll owe you a beer!

Most capacitors will have the ratings on them. You only need to have the mfd's and the voltage.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[ChevyEFI]

Thanks! I remembered reading your post buy couldn't track it down again.

Well, I say you owe us an update when this one is working tip-top.

 

[nmcqueen469]

Well, I say you owe us an update when this one is working tip-top.

I certainly will! If I can have a running compressor for under $200, I'll be set.

I told my wife I was budgeting. $1k for a compressor. Just think what I could do with the $800 I saved?!?

 

[jakemac]

I told my wife I was budgeting. $1k for a compressor. Just think what I could do with the $800 I saved?!?

Curtains, sheets, bed cover, duvet (whatever that is), mani/pedi, spa .......

 

[zkling]

nmcqueen469, Do you have a multimeter that will test capacitance? If so, try that before just replacing parts. Hopefully it is just a run cap. The fact that it died while running is not good. Have you tried running the motor unloaded aka take the belt off? At best it is just a cap, at worst, possibly a burnt out winding from constant dwell at start up.

 

[nmcqueen469]

Curtains, sheets, bed cover, duvet (whatever that is), mani/pedi, spa .......

All of those things have been purchased so I can now finally turn my attention to the garage.

 

[nmcqueen469]

nmcqueen469, Do you have a multimeter that will test capacitance? If so, try that before just replacing parts. Hopefully it is just a run cap. The fact that it died while running is not good. Have you tried running the motor unloaded aka take the belt off? At best it is just a cap, at worst, possibly a burnt out winding from constant dwell at start up.

I've already sent the motor off. A friend of a friend owns a business that's manufacturers/sells/services compressors, so he's going to check it out for me.

I did run it with the belt off and it ran smoothly and didn't heat up the motor or the breaker itself.

Running fine unloaded led me (and the guy checking the motor) to lean toward the cap as the issue.

I should know tomorrow sometime what the verdict is.

 

[nmcqueen469]

Melted starter winding switch was the culprit in the motor.



Motor is back on, adjusted, and ready to rock. All I need to do is get it wired into the panel.

Not likely to happen tomorrow though...Buffalo Wild Wings golf outing will likely consume my entire day.

:cheers:

 

[nmcqueen469]

It's ALIVE!!!!

Wired it up last night and it's running like a champ.

 

[CNGsaves]

It's ALIVE!!!!

Wired it up last night and it's running like a champ.

Great news !!

So tell us the RECAP of money you've got invested in 240v compressor.

Proud pappy pictures ?? Now you've got money for Miller MVP 211 welder??

 

[nmcqueen469]

Great news !!

So tell us the RECAP of money you've got invested in 240v compressor.

Proud pappy pictures ?? Now you've got money for Miller MVP 211 welder??

$148 for the compressor (I didn't have $150 even and the seller couldn't make change for $160 lol) and another $100 for the parts/labor to replace the switch in the motor. $248 total investment, plus a gallon of oil and one shut off valve.

I feel pretty good about that. Time to start shipping quality air tools to replace the junk I've had on hand that's been gathering dust.

And a Miller MVP 211.